First residents 'flying high' at Telford's Millenium Village

Telford's landmark new build development - The Village in Ketley by Bryant Homes - has got its first residents in RAF aircraft technician Simon Reece (23) and his fiancée Mercedes Aguiman (24), who hails from the Philippines.

The young first time buyers very recently snapped up a designer one bedroom apartment at the ‘eco friendly' development off Holyhead Road, which is one of only seven Millennium communities in the UK designed to demonstrate very best practice in social and environmental sustainability.

Simon explains: "For starters, it looked different to other developments as we drew up and then we really liked what we saw once inside, because the interiors are really smart, the specification is great, and we've got a lovely balcony too. It was a little bit over our budget, so Bryant Homes paid our 5% deposit for us and that really helped and clinched it. The eco status of the homes and the green initiatives on site also appealed and means we'll be doing our little bit for the environment I suppose."

The couple originally met in Lossiemouth North West Scotland, where Simon was previously based, but decided to settle down in his home town of Telford when he was posted back to England. He adds: "Mercedes managed to get moved down here as well with her job, so it all came together nicely. My parents live nearby in Great Hay, so that's very handy too, plus the Bryant Homes staff have been friendly, helpful and good at sorting things out. It certainly feels like home already and we were able to just move our stuff in and start living, because that's the advantage of new build."

Every state-of-the-art green property at The Village has an EcoHomes ‘excellent' rating and this will reduce metered energy consumption and mains water consumption by 20%, plus improve on daylighting and noise proofing by 10%. And increased circulation areas created by roomier living spaces, high insulation levels and low energy heating systems all contribute to the homes being substantially friendly to the environment, and should see much reduced energy bills for residents.

The Village is also making a name for itself because residents are able to have their say on how the development is maintained through a pioneering community trust system, which places maintenance decisions in the hands of those who actually live there. There are even schemes in place at the development to encourage greener modes of transport.

Each household will also have the facility to split recyclable waste in the kitchens and there will be communal underground storage bins in the school square that are designed to collect recyclable waste currently not collected under the standard Borough of Telford and Wrekin refuse system. Different construction materials such as timber windows, wooden cladding, steel down piping and flashings, and concrete roof tiles have been chosen for their green properties. And local wildlife, protected during the construction process, will be encouraged to flourish as the development grows.

Current availability includes two bedroom apartments with parking from just £109,995 and three bedroom homes with two parking spaces from only£139,995. And the four/five bedroom, three storey semi detached Lilyhurst with garage and parking space (just like the state-of-the-art showhome) is now available from £239,995.

For more information on the development, log on to Bryant.co.uk/thevillage.